This year, Chinese New Year fell on January 29, 2025. To celebrate, every year, Jasmine performs at both the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s Lunar New Year and the KCCAA’s Chinese New Year Gala. Through featuring vibrant, authentic cultural dances from various regions and styles, Jasmine hopes to share the beauty of Chinese culture to a broader audience, inspire appreciation for its heritage, and bring everyone in the community together in celebration of the year to come.
At the Nelson-Atkins, the program consisted of 10 dances, each designed to share and celebrate the richness of Chinese culture. From our youngest dancers’ performance of “A Prosperous New Year,” which immersed the audience members into the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year, to our team in Lawrence's "Bamboo Slip Dance," set to music from dance drama, “Confucius.” every piece represented a cultural bridge. Through elements, like lanterns, fans, and traditional choreography, we aimed to provide the Kansas City community with an authentic experience of Chinese heritage and help foster greater appreciation for its beauty and traditions.
Jasmine's Interactive Dance Performance
A highly anticipated event, the Nelson-Atkins' performance drew a large attendance, nearly filling the 500-seat Atkins Auditorium. Through our performances, we were able to leave audiences with a deeper appreciation for traditional Chinese culture. Beyond just the stage, however, Jasmine strives to foster a sense of belonging by actively engaging with the community. Thus, for the second year in a row, we held an interactive dance activity, inviting enthusiastic audience members on stage to not only learn about traditional Chinese dances—this year, a fan dance—but to also collaborate with us in creating a performance. This hands-on opportunity attracted many young students, whom we hope to inspire to further explore Chinese culture and recognize how cultural holidays like Chinese New Year can unite people from all backgrounds together in celebration.
A week later, at the KCCAA Chinese New Year Gala, Jasmine continued its goal of sharing Chinese culture by presenting a diverse selection of dances. These dances included "Mist and Rain over the Magpie Bridge," which brought to life the timeless Chinese legend, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, in which a pair of lovers are only allowed to reunite once a year on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, and our adult class’ “Stepping Stone Bridge,” a graceful piece depicting a group of maidens gathering by the Yangtze River to reminisce about the joyful memories of their youth. Each performance was able to offer the audience a window into China's rich cultural heritage, blending storytelling and tradition.
To close the performances, Jasmine’s senior girls’ class presented “Blessings and Good Fortune.” Drawing inspiration from the Dai ethnic group's symbolic peacock, this dance led the audience on a journey through nature as a peacock descends a mountain, peeks through the forest, spreads its wings, and dips into the water—a graceful portrayal of nature’s beauty, wishing everyone good fortune in the new year.
Both dancers and audience members came together to share the joy of Chinese culture and to celebrate the arrival of the new year. We look forward to seeing everyone again on the same stage next year and wish everyone a joyous Year of the Snake, filled with health, happiness, and love!
~Photography by Xinqun Zheng and Lifang
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